Tripping Over Crayons
by Dafuq Do We Call This Contest
Summary: Percy Jackson swore that he would never fall in love… and he did keep that promise. He never actually fell in love… he merely tripped into love.


**Title:** Tripping Over Crayons

**Rating:** T

**Pairing:** Percabeth

**Word Count**: 2,864

**Beta:** N/A

**Summary:** "Percy Jackson swore that he would never fall in love… and he did keep that promise. He never actually _fell_ in love… he merely tripped into love."

* * *

"_I'm talking 'bout starting out as friends_

_I'm talking 'bout real and not pretend_

_I'm talking 'bout roles of a lifetime" _

Percy Jackson swore that he would never fall in love. He made that promise when he was eight years old, and he did keep that promise. He never actually _fell_ in love. You see… Percy Jackson was not a very graceful person; he couldn't juggle three balls or walk through the streets without tumbling at least once.

(No laughing)

Percy Jackson merely _tripped_ into love.

* * *

It started when Percy saw his parents fighting, and maybe it settled in when they finally got a divorce, but either way, when this small black-haired eight year old saw that love wasn't real he swore to himself that he would never end up in that pit of horror. In his eyes, falling into love was pointless and possibly very painful. (Free-falling through a metaphorical hole seemed terrifying enough. Who knows what came after that.)

Then, she came along with her princess curls and grey eyes. She walked into class on his first day of school and sat in the table that was in the corner of the room. For an eight-year old, Percy thought she was cute.

What? Just because he said he wouldn't fall in love did not mean he couldn't just _like_ someone… right?

…

"Excuse me?" Percy looked up to see a pair of grey eyes staring at him.

"Yes?"

"May I borrow your blue crayon?" Percy looked down at his drawing of a dolphin. He was currently coloring the ocean around it with his favorite shade of blue.

"Uh… After I'm done using it."

The girl shook her head and grabbed his "sixty-four" package of crayons. Ignoring his protests, the girl fished out a greenish-blue color. She held it out to him.

"Use this instead. It resembles the ocean unlike your sky blue."

Percy stared at the girl standing beside him. What kind of person in the third grade even uses the word "resembles"? That's for like… fourth graders!

"Uh…" The girl laughed and took Percy's blue crayon.

"Thank you…" She glanced at the nametag that was taped to his small desk. "Percy."

"You're welcome…"

"Annabeth Chase."

…

Percy sat at the purple table with his sandwich, chocolate chip cookies and juice box. He silently sipped the apple goodness and watched the other kids over at the orange table laugh. He hated being the new student. He heard that new kids smell but he never believed it. He knew that he smelled good; he took a shower that morning! His mom even told him that he smelled like the ocean. The ocean smelled good… Right?

Over at the orange table, three boys and three girls sat in a circle and shared their cookies. Percy saw that they were store bought cookies and he lightly laughed. No one's cookies would ever beat his mom's blue ones.

He swallowed the last bit of his ham and cheese sandwich before shoving his container back into his lunch kit. Two blue cookies were packed perfectly into a sandwich bag that Percy pulled out and excitedly opened. A girl from the loud orange table turned to Percy and laughed.

"Ew! Look! The new kid has blue cookies! Cookies aren't supposed to be blue."

Percy's face grew hot as he broke off a piece and shoved it into his mouth. He turned back into his seat and faced the wall. Beside him, a small hand pulled a purple chair out.

"I like the color blue."

The girl with the big words stood next to him with a grey lunch bag in her hands.

"May I sit with you?" She asked.

Percy nodded.

"Thanks for letting me borrow your crayons by the way. My dad forgot to pack them in my bag."

"No problem."

Annabeth smiled and took out her sandwich and juice. Percy noticed that she didn't have any treats with her. He looked down at his second cookie before pushing it towards her.

"Here, have this cookie. I'm not that hungry anyways." _Lies_, complete lies, but his mother always told him to be nice. He could survive without an extra cookie. At least, for today he could.

The cookie sat on the table beside her sandwich as she sipped her juice box. Annabeth left it there for so long that Percy almost took it back. Suddenly, Annabeth picked up the blue treat, took a bite and smiled.

"Thank you. This is delicious." She said before taking another bite.

Percy remembered to pack four cookies the next day.

* * *

"Are you two ready for your first day of school? It's the last year before high school!" Sally grinned as she placed a white plate of brownies in front of her son and his best friend.

"It'll be no big deal. Its still school." Percy mumbled as he snagged a brownie off of the plate.

"Oh come on Perce, this year of middle school is where we start getting ready for high school!" Annabeth exclaimed as she picked out a decent sized brownie.

"School is school Annie. The only good part is lunch, gym and you."

Annabeth laughed as she hopped off her stool and grabbed Percy's arm. "Thank for the brownies Sally. We're going to go upstairs. I have to make sure Percy's completely ready for tomorrow!"

Sally laughed and let the two kids run upstairs.

Percy sat down on his blue and green bed as his blonde friend picked up his backpack and opened it up. She counted his binders and pencils before rolling her eyes and taking something out.

"You seriously bought a pack of crayons? You're such a Seaweed Brain." Annabeth chucked the small box at Percy's stomach.

"Hey! Crayons are amazing." Percy laughed. Seriously, they were though. Those little colored wax miracles are what got him through most of elementary school.

"Oh really? And why's that?"

Percy smirked and flopped onto his stomach. "I wouldn't have met you." He exclaimed dramatically.

Annabeth rolled her eyes and scoffed. "You're such a cheese ball." She probably thought he was kidding, and Percy hoped he was too. Yet, deep inside, he knew it was the truth.

Laughing, Percy handed back the small yellow box and watched as his blonde friend went through his binders. He watched as she glanced up and gave him her special smile. It was the kind of smile that she only gave to the people she really cared about. Johnny from last year never got that smile and neither did that kid named Ethan, but Percy did and that sent shivers up his spine.

Maybe it started in his bedroom on the last day of summer. Or maybe it was two years ago when Annabeth ditched a movie date with that Ethan kid to spend time with Percy. Either way, Percy's tall walls began to crumble, and it was all because of the girl who borrowed his crayon.

* * *

Freshman year was horrible. So, when the last day of school finally came along, saying Percy was ecstatic may have been an understatement. Once the bell rang, all the students in Percy's homeroom immediately jumped out of their seats and screamed out with joy. A few students ripped out their phones from their pockets and updated their Facebook status. A couple other kids hugged the first person they saw. Then there was Percy Jackson. He ran out the door, his backpack hanging behind him, and dashed towards the room a few door down.

Waiting outside the brown door was the familiar blonde haired girl. A grin spread across her face as Percy wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off the ground. She wrapped her arms around his neck and laughed as Percy spun her around. Around them, students began to fill up the area as they all celebrated. He placed her on the ground slowly but never let go. Keeping an arm around her waist, Percy brought a hand up to Annabeth's face and leaned his forehead against hers. The noise around them was slowly tuned out and all Percy could think about was _greygreygrey._

This wasn't supposed to happen. Sure, Annabeth and Percy were very close. Personal space was non-existent to them. This close however…

Percy had no idea what happened next, but all he knew was that his lips were pressed right against hers.

Five seconds. Five seconds that Percy would never forget.

And when she quickly pulled away, lips and arms, he would never forget the next ten seconds either.

1

"That was..." Percy removed his arms from her waist and rubbed the back of his neck.

2

"That was…"

3

"What was that?"

4

"I guess it happened because…?

5

"Because?"

6

"It was a spontaneous thing? In the moment?" Annabeth shrugged her shoulders.

7

"Oh, okay."

"Yeah, let's just forget about it."

8

9

10

"Forget about it. Okay."

(He never forgot that moment.)

* * *

As time went on, Percy's promise began to mean nothing at all. He would never admit it out loud, but Percy Jackson might've had a little crush on Annabeth Chase during junior year. (We all know it started _way _before though) They grew up together; of course Percy would be somewhat attracted to her. He's seen her at her worst and best moments. He's seen her grow up from frizzy blonde hair to smooth and sophisticated waves. It was bound to happen. Percy Jackson liked Annabeth Chase.

However, he wasn't the only one.

Enter, Luke Castellan. A Goode High senior, and the cliché captain of the football team, he always stole the hearts of girls, Annabeth being one of them. Apparently, he had it all (Percy didn't believe it. He thought he was the most attractive guy in the school.). From the blonde shiny hair, and the supposedly beautiful blue eyes, all the girls were falling heads over heels for him.

Time after time, all Percy would hear about from his classmates is how "gorgeous" Luke is, or how "amazing" he looked at football practice. From the other girls in his grade, he would've expected them to crush on the infamous Luke. However, when he heard it from Annabeth Chase… that was a shock.

They were sitting in study hall, block five. Percy had his notebook and he was copying down some study notes from Annabeth. As he flipped the page, he noticed a tiny little heart in the corner of her definition page. Glancing over at his blonde friend, he pulled the study notes closer to his face and tried to decipher the small letters inside of the doodle heart. With a final squint, Percy managed to make out the five symbols: AC + LC.

"Hey Annie."

"Yep?" Annabeth looked up from her textbook and saw Percy holding up her notebook with a confused look. Quickly, she snatched the book back before her face grew anymore red.

"Who's "LC""? Percy asked as Annabeth hurriedly erased the doodle.

"…No one."

Scoffing, Percy stopped Annabeth's busy hand and held it in his own. He blushed slightly at the touch, but quickly shook it off. "You're really going to try and fool me, Wise Girl?"

"Honestly, Percy, it's no one."

Percy narrowed his eyes and went through the list of the boys he knew from school. Immediately, his eyes grew wide and he stared at a blushing Annabeth in shock.

"Luke Castellan? Seriously Annabeth?" He gripped her hand tighter.

"…Yeah."

Once Percy heard that one word, he dropped her hand instantly and cleared his throat. "Oh, okay then."

"Why? Is something wrong?" Annabeth raised an eyebrow.

"No. Why would there be?" Percy crossed his arms.

With a final glance, Annabeth gave up and sighed. "Okay, whatever. I still need to help you with biology." She picked up her notebook and flipped to a page before explaining something to Percy.

He would never admit it out loud, but when Annabeth admitted her crush, his heart dropped. He figured that he felt that way because Annabeth was his best friend and he didn't want to see her get hurt. However, once she hugged him around the neck as he wrapped his strong arms around her small waist, he knew that he was potentially lying to himself.

It may have started in that study hall block, or years ago in his mother's kitchen. Or, maybe it started the day before, when Annabeth was making him blueberry pancakes, but it started. Percy was slowly beginning to know what loving someone felt like. And he did not like it at all.

(And that was a complete lie.)

* * *

Three months was all it took. Three torturous months of watching Annabeth hold hands and kiss Luke Castellan (Percy still had her first kiss). Three months of trying to deny all the feelings and jealousy. Three horrible months of listening to Annabeth talk about the amazing date she had with Luke the other night. Three months of denying date requests from other girls. He couldn't do it. Not when his best friend was out with some other guy.

And three months till Luke broke her heart.

"He's an asshole. He is an asshole that likes to break people and stomp on them until they crumble under his feet." Annabeth gripped the pillow in her arms as they sat on Percy's bed.

Percy tossed her a juice box as he wrapped a blanket around their legs. He shifted over so his body was pressed against her and their legs were somewhat intertwined.

Annabeth wasn't crying. No, she wasn't a crier. He figured that out in fifth grade when she fell off the swing during recess without shedding a single tear. (How she wasn't sobbing and wailing was a mystery to Percy. If Percy fell of that swing he'd be huddled into a ball and screaming for his mother.) Instead, Annabeth simply walked over to Luke, punched him in the face for kissing some other girl, and walked away. She walked over to Percy's locker and asked if he could drive them somewhere. Percy immediately agreed, and this was where they were.

"He's a big asshole, isn't he?" Percy sipped his apple juice.

"I can't believe I went out with him. I thought he actually liked me, and not the attracted kind of like, the actual kind of like. Gods, I'm so stupid." Annabeth groaned.

Turning his head, Percy looked at Annabeth and rolled his eyes.

He laughed, got up from his bed and walked over to her side. Kneeling down he leaned his forehead against hers and whispered, "You are not stupid Annabeth Chase. You are amazing, and beautiful and smart. And I like you. I really like you. No, I love you."

Annabeth stayed still and stared at Percy's face.

"Percy…"

He stood up and leaned against the wall. "Yeah. I knew this would've happened. It always happens right? It happened with my parents, it happened with my uncle, and now it's going to happen to us isn't it?"

Annabeth pushed the blanket off her legs and walked over to the boy flushed with anger and embarrassment. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him close to her.

She leaned up and Percy brought his head down to hers.

That was it. That was the moment that should not have happened. Best friends never fall for each other. Best friends are best friends. Yet, this was their life and this was Percy and Annabeth. Percy never does anything normal. Neither does Annabeth. And, maybe that's why it all fit together perfectly.

As Annabeth brushed her lips against his, legs gave up on him (theoretically) and he stumbled and tripped into that infamous hole.

* * *

Maybe he realized it in that high school hallway where they first kissed, or in the classroom of grade three. It may have even been in the very bedroom they're in right now, but Percy Jackson was finally in love.

He was in love with Annabeth Chase. He was in love with her _blondehairgreyeyes. _He was in love with her blueberry pancakes that she made especially for him. He was in love with her legs and her arms and her hair and her face and her… _everything. _And as he hoisted her up and wrapped her legs around his waist he felt everything come together.

Percy Jackson is not the most graceful person in the entire world. He couldn't juggle three balls or walk through the streets without tumbling at least once. And that's exactly why Percy _tripped_ into love. He tripped over crayons, study notes, and blue cookies. He stumbled over grey eyes, blonde hair and beaded necklaces. And as Percy pressed his lips roughly against Annabeth's soft ones, he knew that this was Annabeth and he was Percy.

He knew that this was love.

Perhaps, he was wrong as a child. (Because that happens all the time.)

And maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all.

"_You and I can even write the end."_

_-Here Comes Forever, R5_


End file.
